LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- A family dispute in 2017 ended with a 20-year-old man shot dead, with his father the accused gunman. That father in now convicted of killing his son.
42-year-old Jonathan Brunelle was found guilty on Saturday of killing Shane Brunelle.
According to the State Attorney's Office, in June 2017, the father and son got into an argument at a Lehigh Acres home. Brunelle called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on the main phone line and said “they better get here before I put a bullet in him” referring to his son.
Brunelle had a gun, a Smith and Wesson 40, which he gave to his neighbor to hold onto while deputies were on their way.
When deputies arrived the dispute between father and son had been settled and the son was trying to find a ride to go stay with another relative. While deputies were on scene, a neighbor said they heard Brunelle say “wait until the cops leave, the **** is going to go down.”
As soon as deputies left, Brunelle demanded his gun back, went inside his home, and shot his son in the stomach. The defendant then called 911 and claimed he accidentally shot his son. His son died from the gunshot wound at the hospital.
Following a nearly five day trial in Lee County, the jury came back with the guilty verdict just after midnight on Saturday. Brunelle’s sentencing is set for June 10th.
He could face a life in prison sentence.
